RBS says services are back online – Twitter users disagree

A number of Twitter users are still complaining about not being able to access online banking services after a failure at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) last night, despite claims that all services should be back to normal.

Derek du Preez
March 7, 2013

Share

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

A number of Twitter users are still complaining about not being able to access online banking services after a failure at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) last night, despite claims that all services should be back to normal.

Last night’s problems, which lasted from 22.00 GMT until at least 01.00 GMT, left customers unable to make online transactions, carry out debit card payments, or withdraw cash. This is the second major failure for Natwest customers, which is owned by RBS, after a major glitch last summer that left millions unable to access their funds for days.

RBS has confirmed this morning that the latest glitch was down to a hardware failure it in no way related to the software problems it experienced last year.

A spokesperson for RBS told Computerworld UK that all services should be up and running and it wasn’t aware of any further problems with people gaining access to their online banking. However, users on Twitter were still reporting problems this morning.

RBS said that if any customers were still experiencing problems, they should get in touch on its customer helpline to get any issues resolved. RBS customers should call 0845 7242424, and Natwest customers should call 0845 7888 444.

RBS’ chief executive Stephen Hester has since said that the banking group may have avoided the major IT glitch if it had focused more on keeping its existing systems up-to-date, rather than developing new systems.

“RBS has seen a big mushrooming in spending on technology. With hindsight maybe a bit more of that increase in spend should have been in the core, taken-for-granted systems that work every day,” said Hester.